Game Notes (July 1)
July 1, 2019 - South Atlantic League (SAL1)
Charleston Dirty Birds News Release
The Power opens the month of July with a three-game series against the Hickory Crawdads at Appalachian Power Park. First pitch Monday evening is set for 7:05 p.m. RHP Devin Sweet (3-3, 3.31 ERA) takes the hill for West Virginia, while Hickory goes with RHP Cole Winn (0-3, 7.59 ERA).
------------------------------------------------------------
RAMIZ WALKS IT OFF IN THE TENTH: Ryan Ramiz smashed a game-tying home run in the ninth and the game-winning RBI single in the tenth as the Power stunned the Kannapolis Intimidators in come-from-behind fashion, 9-8, in the series finale Sunday afternoon at Appalachian Power Park. Down 6-4 with one down in the ninth, Joseph Rosa singled to right to bring the tying run to the plate in Ramiz. The outfielder slugged a 1-0 pitch 364 feet over the right-field fence off J.B. Olson to knot the game at six and send it to extra innings. In the top of the tenth, the Intimidators plated two runs (one earned) against Dayeison Arias, but West Virginia answered right back in the home half. With Charlie McConnell as the placed on runner at second base, Julio Rodriguez bounced a ball through the left side to shift him to third. Bobby Honeyman then worked a walk to load the bases, and David Sheaffer ripped a single to left that shrunk the deficit to one. Onil Pena struck out looking for the first out of the inning, but Jake Anchia was issued a free pass with the bases loaded to tie the game at eight. Rosa popped out to short on the first pitch he saw, but Ramiz delivered with a base hit to right to score Honeyman and walk it off against Kannapolis for the second time this series. Kannapolis struck early and often against Ryne Inman, plating a run in each of the first three innings. Honeyman responded in the fourth, stroking a two-run double to pull the Power within one. However, the Intimidators went to the long ball in the sixth and the eighth, as Romy Gonzalez greeted both Sal Biasi and Kyle Hill with a solo home run to put Kannapolis up by four. West Virginia pushed two across in the eighth before Ramiz's late-inning heroics took over.
PRIVATE RYAN BECOMES CAPTAIN CLUTCH: Ramiz came alive in the late innings yesterday, cracking his fourth home run of the season in the ninth and compiling his second three-hit game of the season (April 7 at Greenville), as well as a career high-tying three RBI. The Freehold, New Jersey, product posted his 13th multi-hit game of the year and eighth multi-RBI affair.
THE COMEBACK KIDS: West Virginia notched its sixth come-from-behind win when trailing by three runs or more in a game Sunday, with their biggest deficit at four runs entering the bottom of the eighth inning. The largest drought the Power has overcome this season is five runs (May 26 vs. Lexington). Ramiz's walk-off single marked West Virginia's sixth walk-off winner this year, moving their record to 6-5 in that scenario.
BY THE SLIMMEST OF MARGINS: With their 9-8 win Sunday over Kannapolis, West Virginia snagged its 19th one-run victory of the season, improving their overall record in one-run contests to 19-9. The Power's .679 winning percentage is tops in the league, while their 28 one-run games played are fifth-most on the circuit (Lakewood, 35).
SWEET AS HONEY: Honeyman capped off the month of June with a bang yesterday, going 3-for-4 with a double, two RBI and a run scored. Since June 12, the Stony Brook product has hit safely in 11 of his 15 games while boasting a .333 average (19-for-57), six multi-hit games, eight extra-base hits, a home run and 12 RBI. His .333 average is the seventh-highest average in the South Atlantic League in this span among qualified sluggers. The infielder notched his second three-hit game of the season and 16th multi-hit contest, second-most on the team behind Jarred Kelenic and Rosa (17).
WHAT A RUN: After allowing an earned run in the top of the 10th inning Sunday on Amado Nunez's RBI single, Arias saw his streak of not giving up an earned run come to a close at 22.1 innings. This incredible stretch dated back to April 25 vs. Asheville, spanning more than 18 appearances. In that timeframe, no other SAL hurler who had as many innings pitched as Arias posted a spotless earned run average.
THE LONG BALL: Ramiz's ninth-inning bomb is the Power's 68th of the season, third-most in the South Atlantic League (Greensboro, 79 and Hickory, 90). West Virginia now has 38 homers in 39 games at Appalachian Power Park in 2019, the fourth-highest home mark in the league (Asheville, 40; Greensboro, 41; Hickory, 56). However, the Power's pitching staff has been quite susceptible to the long ball as well, as they have given up the league's most dingers (70).
GETTING BACK ON TRACK: Following an 1-for-4, two-RBI showing Sunday, Sheaffer has continued to cement himself as a lethal part of the West Virginia lineup. The utility man has reached base safely in nine of his 11 games with the Power since joining the team June 13 from Triple-A Tacoma, and is averaging .341 with a home run, eight RBI and seven extra-base hits, along with a .952 OPS.
POWER POINTS: The Power went 5-for-12 with RISP... Anchia saw his eight-game hitting streak snapped (0-for-4).
South Atlantic League Stories from July 1, 2019
- Greg Jones Slams Tourists to Walk off Victory - Asheville Tourists
- Suns Lose High-Scoring Affair - Hagerstown Suns
- Rodriguez Launches No-Doubt Homer in 4-1 Loss - Charleston Dirty Birds
- Lockridge's Blast Sets Tone, Charleston Prevails in Opener - Charleston RiverDogs
- RiverDogs Take Series Opener from GreenJackets 5-1 - Augusta GreenJackets
- 'Claws Fly by 'Birds in Opener - Delmarva Shorebirds
- Butto Overpowers Greenville, Leads Columbia to Total Team Win - Columbia Fireflies
- Santos, Morales Spin Three-Hit Shutout on Monday - Jersey Shore BlueClaws
- Fireflies Game Notes: July 1 vs. Greenville (Game 78) - Columbia Fireflies
- Hagerstown Suns Game Notes - Hagerstown Suns
- Game Notes (July 1) - Charleston Dirty Birds
- 26th Annual Border Bash to be Held at SRP Park - Augusta GreenJackets
- Rome Completes Sweep of Greenville with 6-3 Sunday Win - Rome Emperors
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
